Choosing a major is one of the most important decisions a college student can make. Ideally, a college major can open doors into the workforce and help pave the way to a high-paying job and fulfilling career. As major life decisions go, choosing what to study in college isn't to be taken lightly.
選擇專業是大學生要做的最重要的決定之一。理想情況下,大學專業可以打開職場大門,為獲得高薪工作和充實的職業生涯鋪平道路。作為人生的重大決定,選擇在大學學習什么并不是一件容易的事。
Prospective students should be aware of how majors will position them for their desired industry and how earnings may vary by field over the course of a career. Read on for expert advice on how to decide on a college major.
未來的學生應該了解專業對他們所期望的行業的定位以及職業生涯中不同領域的收入會有怎樣的差異。以下是關于如何選擇大學專業的建議。
選擇專業的建議
Vol.1 找到你的興趣所在
A student's major will greatly influence his or her college experience. Many students join clubs related to their major and befriend classmates within their area of study. Considering how a major can affect a student's life both during and after college, it's optimal to choose an area of sustained interest.
一個學生的專業將極大地影響他或她的大學經歷。例如,許多學生參加與他們專業相關的社團并和他們學習領域內的同學交朋友??紤]到一個專業會影響一個學生在大學期間和畢業后的生活,選擇一個持續感興趣的領域是最佳的。
Students should choose to focus their studies on topics they are interested in exploring and on skills they want to build.
學生應該選擇把重點放在他們感興趣的研究領域,以及他們想要培養的技能上。
Vol.2 選擇專業的時候要考慮大學的學術水平
Students who are set on a specific major should consider how that subject is taught at their target schools. For example, does a college have a reputation for minting graduates who go on to successful careers in their chosen field? Or does a college even offer the major that an applicant is interested in?
選擇了特定專業的學生應該考慮目標學校是如何教授該學科的。例如,一所大學是否以培養畢業生在自己選擇的領域取得成功而聞名?或者學校是否會提供申請者感興趣的專業?
students should check college websites to learn more about available program offerings. Another source to learn more about quality programs is the U.S. News rankings and QS World University Rankings, which include breakdowns of top schools in engineering, finance, marketing and various other fields of study.
學生們可以查看大學網站,了解更多可供選擇的課程。另一個了解學校課程質量的來源還可以是U.S. News 發布的排名榜單、QS世界大學排名榜單等作為參考。這些榜單可以提供如工程、金融、市場營銷和各種其他研究領域的頂尖學校的分類。
Vol.3 聽取業內人士的職業建議
College applicants may gain a better understanding of the jobs in certain majors by speaking with industry professionals instead of family and friends.
大學申請者可以通過與業內人士而不是家人和朋友交談來更好地了解某些專業的工作。
In a 2017 survey on students who sought advice on what to major in, 84% rated advice they received from people with experience in a field as helpful, and 82% rated advice from an employer or coworker as helpful. Ultimately, parents should step back and remember that choosing a major is not their decision. Let your child pick the major that he or she is most interested in。
在2017年對尋求專業建議的學生進行的一項調查中,84%的人認為他們從具有該領域經驗的人那里得到的建議是有益的,82%的人認為雇主或同事的建議是有益的。最后,家長們應該了解,選擇專業不是家長自己的決定。讓你的孩子選擇他或她最感興趣的專業。
Vol.4 了解你想從事的職業需要的學位是什么?
For many jobs, a bachelor's degree is sufficient. But some professional roles require additional training. For example, aspiring doctors and lawyers should know that college is just the beginning. So while majoring in prelaw or premedicine may be the right step at the undergraduate level, those students should be aware that an additional degree will be required to practice law or medicine.
對于許多工作來說,學士學位就足夠了。但一些專業性高的職業則需要額外的培訓。例如,有抱負的醫生和律師應該知道大學只是一個開始。因此,雖然在本科階段主修法律預科或醫學預科可能是正確的一步,但這些學生應該意識到,從事法律或醫學工作需要額外的學位。
Experts say that before declaring a major, students should look to their end goals to understand if they will need a graduate or professional degree to land the job they want.
專家表示,在選擇專業之前,學生們應該考慮自己的最終目標,弄清楚自己是否需要一個研究生學位或專業學位來幫助自己找到理想工作。
Vol.5 把你的專業和有用的輔修科目結合起來
Though a college major will make up a large portion of the courses a student takes, a minor is another avenue to learn useful skills. A useful major and minor combination can reinforce skills across disciplines and prepare students to work in more than one industry.
雖然大學主修課程占學生課程的很大一部分,但輔修課程是學習有用技能的另一個途徑。一個有用的專業和輔修結合可以加強跨學科的技能,并為學生在多個行業工作崗位做好準備。
"I think of a minor as an interdisciplinary link," Micah Sadigh, a psychology professor and department chair at Cedar Crest College in Pennsylvania, told U.S. News in 2019. "It links you, connects you to another discipline and changes, expands how you think about disciplines, but also, expands how you think about life, people, working with people, creativity and how creativity can manifest itself differently."
2019年,賓夕法尼亞州西達克斯特學院的心理學教授兼系主任米卡·薩迪在接受《美國新聞與世界報道》采訪時表示:“我認為輔修課程是一種跨學科的聯系。它將你與另一門學科聯系起來,并改變、擴展你對學科的看法,同時也擴展了你對生活、人、與人合作、創造力以及創造力如何以不同方式表現出來的看法。”
Vol.6 計算未來可能獲得的薪資
It can be valuable for prospective and current college students to know which majors are more or less likely to lead to a high salary. Students who have an idea of what they'll make after college can get a jump-start on budgeting for things like student loan payments or graduate school.
對于大學生來說,了解哪些專業畢業后可能獲得高薪是很有價值的。了解大學畢業后能賺多少錢的學生可以開始為學生貸款或研究生院等事情做預算。
Vol.7 要知道專業是可以改變的
As a student takes more college classes, his or her interests will likely expand alongside the knowledge gained. That could mean a student suddenly discovers a new passion that translates into a career. As long as the decision to change a major is made early on, it should be a smooth transition.
隨著學生上更多的大學課程,他或她的興趣可能會隨著獲得的知識而擴展。這可能意味著學生突然發現了一種新的愛好,并將其轉化為職業。只要及早做出轉專業的決定,都是可以平穩地從原專業過渡到新專業的。
However, if a student waits until late in college, changing majors may mean it takes longer to graduate. Students should discuss the change with an academic adviser to make sure it works, but generally speaking, the earlier the better.
然而,如果一個學生在大學階段的后期換專業可能意味著需要更長的時間才能畢業。學生們應該與學術導師討論轉專業的事宜,以確保其有效,但一般來說,越早轉專業越好。
高起薪的大學專業
Here are the 3 college majors with the highest median starting salaries for graduates with a bachelor's degree only, as well as the schools at which graduates earned the highest median starting salary for each of those majors, according to the nationally representative Online Salary Survey by Payscale.
根據具有代表性的Payscale在線薪資調查,以下是僅有本科學位的畢業生起薪中位數最高的3個大學專業,以及這些專業的畢業生起薪中位數最高的學校。
#1 Computer engineering 計算機工程
Median starting salary: $80,300
起薪中位數:80,300美元
College with highest median alumni starting salary for this major: University of California—San Diego
該專業校友起薪中位數最高的學院:加州大學圣地亞哥分校
Median starting salary for University of California—San Diego graduates in this field: $97,500
加州大學圣地亞哥分校在該領域畢業生的起薪中位數為97,500美元
#2 Computer science 計算機科學
Median starting salary: $77,300
起薪中位數:77,300美元
College with highest median alumni starting salary for this major: Stanford University (CA)
該專業校友起薪中位數最高的學院:斯坦福大學(CA)
Median starting salary for Stanford University graduates in this field: $119,000
該領域斯坦福大學畢業生的起薪中位數為11.9萬美元
#3 Software engineering 軟件工程
Median starting salary: $75,900
起薪中位數:75,900美元
College with highest median alumni starting salary for this major: San José State University (CA)
該專業校友起薪中位數最高的學院:圣何塞州立大學 (CA)
Median starting salary for San José State University graduates in this field: $92,100
圣何塞州立大學在這個領域的畢業生起薪中位數:92,100美元。
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